Few community events have endured like Carman’s Wednesday Morning Group. For over 40 years, residents have attended the weekly sessions at the local United Church, where they’ve been enlightened and entertained by a variety of special guests.
Board member Julia Rubin McDonald says it’s been a joy to be a part of this decades-long tradition. “This group has been in operation for quite a while. It’s non-denominational and runs from mid-September until mid-May. Every week, we have a different speaker who shares their story and their insights. Over the years, we’ve hosted a wide variety of guests, from authors to local entrepreneurs, community builders, CEOs, and government representatives. Recently, we invited somebody who travelled to Kazakhstan.”
Generally, the audience consists of about 20 attendees.
“The church offers us the space, and it’s been quite something for the community at large to have people from all walks of life engage with us,” she adds.
Next month’s session is set to be particularly special, as Winnipeg-based writer, editor, and activist Niigaan Sinclair has been invited to the podium. “We’re anticipating a larger group for this session because of his background and knowledge, and his new book. We’re hoping he’ll share some insights from that, as well,” Rubin McDonald says.
The event will take place on Wednesday, Jan. 8, at 10 a.m. at the Carman United Church on 1st St. SW.
“It’s a free drop-in. Everyone is welcome. We’ve also invited students from the Carman Collegiate to be there. It’s such an awesome opportunity to learn, and there will also be time for questions.”
Sinclair is just as excited to be there.
“It’s on the day after my birthday, in fact. I like to support people all over the province in their different work. I go to a lot of churches, book clubs, and I speak to a lot of student and senior groups. I do at least five to 10 of these a month,” he says.
He reflects on his late father, judge and Senator Murray Sinclair, who also believed in standing beside the people doing the work.
“We need to acknowledge that they are doing the heavy lifting necessary to make the country better.”
Sinclair wears many hats.
He heads the Department of Native Studies at the University of Manitoba and holds the Faculty of Arts Professorship in Indigenous Knowledge and Aesthetics. He has co-edited award-winning books like Manitowapow: Aboriginal Writings from the Land of Water and Centering Anishinaabeg Studies: Understanding the World Through Stories. Sinclair has also contributed to Winter We Danced: Voices of the Past, the Future, and the Idle No More Movement and authored several graphic novels. A journalist for the Winnipeg Free Press and a former high school teacher, he is also a captain of the Mama Bear Clan patrol in Winnipeg’s inner city.
Recognized as one of Canada’s most influential individuals, Sinclair frequently speaks on Indigenous issues on major networks like CTV, CBC, and APTN. He was named Canadian Columnist of the Year in 2018 and won the 2019 Peace Educator of the Year from Georgetown University’s Peace and Justice Studies Association. His book Wînipêk: Visions of Canada from an Indigenous Centre won the 2024 Governor General’s Award for English-language non-fiction.
“I’m excited about the book,” he says. “I’m very honoured to be a part of such a great legacy of writers. I get to go to the Governor General’s house next year. I’m very happy people are showing an interest in the book.”
Wînipêk, he says, isn’t about the city. “It’s about the watershed. That means everything from Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, North and South Dakota, Wisconsin, Michigan, everything flows into Lake Winnipeg from there. That’s what is embodied in that word, Wînipêk. The first chapter refers to the algae and how it is created. The book also touches on elements of history and knowledge embedded within that word. “
The book is a collection of about 80 of his columns.
“My editor worked with me on the project. It wasn’t just a single effort. It’s really a book that took me a number of years to write. I split it up into four seasons, breaking it up into ways the work takes place in Indigenous communities. Summer, where all the preparation takes place, Fall is where you really batten down the hatches for Winter. Winter is the time of difficulty and often devastation – there’s a lot of stuff about residential schools in there. And Spring is the time of renewal.”
Sinclair says he’s honoured to be able to share details about the book with the Carman group. “I’ve been to Carman many times. I went to a hockey school there when I was a kid. So, driving out to Carman now, spending the time and money, is worth making sure that people who are doing the work know that they are seen. We all have that work to do now. My dad left it for all of us.”
